


How long had it been?

by Kitax13



Category: Austin & Ally
Genre: Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-28
Updated: 2012-03-28
Packaged: 2017-12-14 19:44:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/840654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitax13/pseuds/Kitax13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Austin and Ally realize their feelings. Will they act or attempt to forget them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ally 1 - How Long

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my Austin and Ally story. Fluffy whatnots. I try to keep my chapters around 1000 words each.

She watched him strum his finger back and forth against the strings of his favorite cherry red guitar. Seeing as Sonic Boom was void of customers, she allowed herself a moment to herself. The lights reflected off of the guitar upward, making his face and the underside of his hair glow slightly red. She knew that eventually she would have to get up and interrupt him from his practice; he knew he wasn’t supposed to play in the shop while it was open, but she couldn’t stop herself from staring. He was her best friend the famous musician, the incredibly goofy, understanding, kind boy that she had known for all of three months. Even then, she couldn’t look away. His blonde hair, now tinted with red, bobbed up and down as he did. His voice streaming out of his mouth- quietly at first but now seemed to grow louder as he stopped paying attention to his surroundings. That was another thing. His ability to drown out the world around him and just do what he loved was probably one of his most easily seen attributes. This was something that she could never do. That’s what she used to think anyway. Ever since—ever since that day—she hadn’t been able to sing in front of anyone, until she met him.

She thought back on that day often. Her first thoughts of him were not kind, as he ignored the signs and played the store’s drum set… with corn dogs. Looking back today, she would have laughed before kicking him off the stool. Back then she simply asked him to leave. She had thought that this, admittedly good looking, boy was someone that she would never see again. Her break started and she made her way to her practice room, a small storage room on the second level of the store. The old leather chairs and ancient piano called her to it. She had a tune in her head and needed to get it out. The notes chimed out of the piano as words crawled out of her mouth.

_They want the girl girl girl_

_With the game game game_

_And when they look look look_

_Our way way way,_

_You’re gonna make make_

_Make 'em do a double take._

She remembered the clapping from behind her; the fear she felt, that someone might have heard her singing. She whirled around to find him leaning against the door post, his hands still applauding her. Every event that followed after that showed her who he really was. He was the only one that she could sing in front of. The only one that could make her laugh when she should have been yelling at them for grilling burgers on the store xylophone. There had been so many moments in just three months, so many memories. As her brain tried to catalogue them all, she barely noticed the missing music in the background.

“Austin?” she questioned finally coming back to the present. He now stood in front of her, waving a hand in front of her face. “What are you doing?” Austin dropped his hand and braced himself on the table, bringing his face close to hers, his eyebrows furrowed. Her breath hitched before he pulled back again.

“Are you ok?” he asked, reaching up to place the back of his hand across her forehead. “You were staring at me” He corrected himself “-spacing off really.” She shook her head and smiled.

“It’s nothing, I’m just not feeling too good.” She said bracing herself against the counter. She mentally berated herself before Austin could reply. How could she have let herself go like that, over her best friend? She sighed.

“Well you don’t feel very warm but your face is definitely red.” He gave her a worried look. “Maybe you should go up to the practice room and take a break. “He suggested before grabbing her wrist and pulling her around the counter and over to the stairs. “I’ll watch the store until you feel better.” He said before Ally pulled him into a hug. She couldn’t control herself, but at least she knew he wouldn’t ask. He hugged her back quickly before pulling her away from him. “Get up there will you?” he smiled down at her and she nodded. She would have like to stay with him a little longer but she didn’t want to draw attention. She slunk up the stairs and looked back down to the ground floor where Austin still stood, watching her until she made her way into the room. She closed it behind her and leaned against the door. She breathed deeply as she remembered his touch and the smell that still clung to her hair. She hated how he smelled like a fresh summer breeze; how her heart leaped in her chest when she saw him singing one of her songs. Did she like him or was it just the Austin Moon effect?

She made her way to the bright orange couch. She remembered how he had bought all of this to make it up to her and bribe her really. She only had one request. She needed a couch, not just two chairs. Austin had already used up all of the money he had gotten from the Hellen show; it was easy to return some of the other chairs he had bought. She had never been so glad that she had asked for it, as she had been now. She lay down and pulled a pillow over her face. Just the mere thought of the mere possibility of her having a crush on someone other than the cellphone accessory cart guy, made her feel—she didn’t know how she felt. She sighed and tried to fall asleep with all of these potential song lyrics running through her head. How badly did she want to write a love song when she knew that he would never sing it. How long had she’d known about her feelings for her best friend?


	2. Austin 1 - Promises

As he strummed away at his favorite cherry red guitar he flipped his hair out of his eyes. He sang out the lyrics that she had written for him. This was always his fall back song, his favorite. He fell into the lyrics as he went, singing Not a Love Song without thinking about his volume. This happened a lot to him, he realized, when he sang her songs. There was always so much feeling in them, there was no way that he could control himself. She might have said that he was the one who put so much feeling into it but he knew different. The song was nothing without her words; without her. Shaking his hair again to get the thoughts out of his head, he risked a peek, still strumming the strings. He almost fell backwards as his eyes met hers. She stared at him, smiling to herself. His finger’s slipped and he looked back to his guitar. Why was she looking at him like that? He looked up again expecting her to have gone back to her book. She just stared into his eyes, still smiling away. He gave her one of his pop star patent smiles and started to laugh. She had to have been messing with him. She didn’t move.

“Ally?” he questioned when he found that it really bothered him. She made no move to reply. He frowned and dropped his guitar into the stand near his left leg. Making his way over from the Piano bench where he sat, he stood a step from the counter where Ally leaned, still smiling like a small child who recently had been given anything in the world that she wanted. He waved his hand in front of her face a few times before finally getting a response. Her smile dropped off of her face before looking up at him through the spaces in-between his fingers.

“Austin?” She asked, still leaning on the counter. “What are you doing?” Austin leaned over the counter, bringing his face not an inch away from hers. He stared her in the eyes before pulling back. He made a mental note not to stand up that quickly; he suddenly felt dizzy.

“Are you ok?” he asked before raising his hand to her forehead. He was pretty sure that was how his mother checked for a temperature. He couldn’t quite place it but something was wrong. “You were staring at me” No not staring at me, just spacing off, he paused. “-spacing off really.” He corrected himself. His stomach turned when she shook her head with a smile.

“It’ nothing,” she said as he raised a hand to his stomach. “I’m just not feeling too good.” She finished. He looked down at her. worry laced his face.

“Well you don’t feel too warm,” he said “but your face is definitely red.” He grabbed her wrist before pulling over to the stairs. “Maybe you should go up to the practice room and take a break.” He smiled down at her with everything he had, attempting not to show the worry he was holding in. “I’ll watch the store until you feel better.” He said. She gave him a look of indiscernible nature before pulling him into a hug. His stomach flipped and his heart threatened to jerk out of his chest. No. This could not be happening. He pushed her away. Making sure to smile, he looked down at her. “Get up there, will you?” he posed the question as a command. Ally nodded, that indiscernible look still covering her face. He watched as she walked out of his hands and up the stairs, stopping to look back before quickly walking into her practice room; closing the door behind her. Austin stared at the door for what could have been minutes before spinning around and dropping his on top of the counter.

“This can’t be happening.” He whined bouncing his head up and down on the counter. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t do this with her. Not with her. So many times he had had these feelings and acted on them. It would be great until something went wrong. He wouldn’t have minded if it could ever end well, but it never did. There was no going back to the way things were. He would never be able to see her again. He would lose his songwriter; his best friend. He told himself these things over and over again, whenever something like this happened. He thought that He and Ally could have made it with just being friends, and it was working for the first three months. He felt nothing when she hugged him, when she smiled; he left nothing, until now. He and Ally where opposites. They had nothing in common other than their love of music. So why did his heart leap when she hugged him _this time._ Why did he feel the need to pull her closer, keep her safe? Was it because she was sick, was he simply feeling responsible. Even though this seemed improbable, he dug this into his brain. He knew that if it was anything else, he was utterly screwed. There was a ding as the front door of the store opened. He stood up straight, a smile on his face.

“Welcome to-“he said loudly before stopping. “Oh, it just you Des.” He said to his red headed friend. This was just what he needed, a distraction; something to get his mind off of things.

“Hey Austin, have you seen Trish?” Des questioned before pulling his backpack up on his back. “I’ve been looking all over the mall, but I can’t find her new job.” Austin’s real smile came about and he walked over to his friend.

“Not today Des. What are you up to?” he questioned his friend before Des frowned.

“She said that she wanted to have a zalion’s marathon today.” Des’s smile came back quickly “Do you want to join?” he asked hopeful pulling at his friend’s hand. Austin stopped Des as he pulled him towards the door. Austin looked up towards the practice room. There would be no distraction for him this time.

“Sorry, Des, I told Ally I would look after the store for her while she took a break.” Des nodded in understanding.

“Well,” Des said shoving his hands into the pockets of his bright red pants. “If you see Trish, tell her I’m looking for her, K?” he said with a bright smile, exiting the store. Austin sighed and turned back to the counter. The last group of people exited the store and Austin looked up to the practice room and sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

Austin watched as the day passed. Four hours of watching a scarce number of people walk back and forth without buying anything. He distracted himself by ignoring the posted signs and playing ever instrument on display. Luckily this took up his time, but he did notice how most of the tunes he played where slow and legato and he didn’t hate it. Only a few minutes before closing the bell rang one last time as a familiar face made its way into the store, eyes peeled for a specific brunette. Dallas, the cellphone accessory cart guy, looked around the store before spotting Austin in the corner, a saxophone hovering outside his mouth. They make eye contact for a heartbeat before they both smile. Austin sets the sax back onto the stand before walking over to where Dallas leaned on the counter.

“I’m looking for Ally.” Dallas said still leaning. Austin waltzed around Dallas. He wondered why it was so hard to be friendly to this guy when everyone else liked him. He was a nice guy, he admitted, but he couldn’t bring himself to like him. Austin gave a smile that was maybe to obviously a fake one.

“She wasn’t feeling well so I took over for her.” he said still smiling, now standing behind the counter. This wasn’t a lie as far as Austin could tell. Neither could Dallas. "So, if there’s anything I can do for you-?” he asked feeling extremely triumphant. Dallas nodded and smiled.

“Well, could you tell her that I wanted to talk to her? It’s not too important, but if you could-“Austin nodded along with his request trying not to laugh at the boy’s unnaturally high pitched voice. He may not have liked the kid but he definitely couldn’t do that do him. Dallas turned and walked out of the store. Austin glared at the boy, his smile dropping off his face and onto the floor.

 Austin knew why he didn’t like Dallas; for putting thoughts in his head. Just after meeting Ally, he had a problem. She wrote in her journal that she had a crush on someone with the same name as a state in Texas. Before learning that she was talking about Dallas, Austin thought it was him. After just a small amount of time he couldn’t possibly have liked her like that. He tried his best to make her not like him. The worst part of the whole day wasn’t being humiliated on the jumbo-tron in the mall; it had to face Ally’s face when she realized that he was so against the idea of them being together. Even though it wasn’t the original thought in her head and he knew that, her face was so sad. Even when she understood his reasoning, that face stuck in her head. He never wanted to see that face again, so for all of the time he knew her he tried his best to make her smile. He sighed as he locked the front door and flipped the closed sign. Dallas hadn’t really complicated everything but he definitely had a part in it. Austin refused to accept that he had any blame in this. He replaced all of the instruments that he had messed with back in their spots. He swept the floor to the best of his abilities and made his way up the stairs.

Austin hesitated before knocking on the door. He waited but no response came so he slid the door open quietly. On the floor next to the couch was a thin red pillow, that he expected Ally to have used to block out the sun. He would have done the same. He laughed to himself as he walked over to pick up the pillow. He bent down to pick it up and turned to find Ally snoozing next to him. He found himself smiling and couldn’t be bothered to stop himself. He laid the pillow on the floor and sat on it. He couldn’t bring himself to wake her up so he figured he’d wait. She had been sleeping for the past four hours, she wouldn’t be much longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me if I'm spelling something wrong or something.


	3. Ally 2 - Acknowledgement

“Ally,” a voice said in her ear, quietly like a whisper. Warm air brushed against her temple. She burrowed her face deeper into the pillow to her right and replied inaudibly. “Ally,” the voice said again. Hair tickled the tips of her fingers as she lifted her eyes to see the blue and yellow plaid fabric of her shirt. Her thought process was slow as she realized that this was not her shirt, but his. It covered the arm that she had mistaken for a pillow. She stared sleepily at him, realizing the hair that had tickled her fingers was not hers.  His eyes fluttered under his lashes as he breathed in and out rhythmically. She tangled her fingers deeper into the straw mess of his before retracting and observing the situation. He leaned on the couch right next to her, their eyes aligned, his hair in his eyes. She could have sworn that he was the one who had said her name, but he was asleep.  She must have been dreaming. Then again, it wasn’t infrequent that she would have dreams as such. Thinking about at that moment, her sight was clear. She could see it. She looked at him in a different light; his blonde hair, his long dark lashes, his lips. It was so obvious, so why had she not noticed before? She could have leaned in right there, and made sure, but she didn’t need to. She understood as she ran her pinkie finger over his bottom lip. She needed him next to her and she couldn’t complicate that. She closed her eyes. She needed this.

“Ally?” came the voice again, this time it was definitely him. Her eyes met his. The ceiling light shone on them, giving their normal speckled brown the appearance of gold. They were worth that and so much more. Before she could stop herself, the corners of her lips twitched up in a smile. It was sweet but sad. Austin smiled back and neither of them moved. “I was going to give you five more minutes, but I think I fell asleep too.” He said softly, warm breath brushed against her. The smell of his breath mixed with his usual smell of the beach in the summer.  She didn’t want to move but she knew that if she gave him the chance, he would first. She slunk upward into a leaning position and shook the hair out of her face. She watched as he sat up in front of her and ran the back of his hand over his eyes, wiping the nonexistent crust from his eyes. Thoughts of how he resembled a small furry animal crossed her mind and she couldn’t stifle a giggle. He looked up at her and cocked an eyebrow before smiling himself. “I won’t ask.” He said before standing and offering his hand. She stared at it as if it was the last time he would ever show her such kindness. In reality it was just the understanding that he would always give her these moments, but he would never give it a second thought. That is what that look held and he returned it with a smile. She accepted his hand and allowed him to pull her up. They both reached up in the air to stretch and Ally had to look away before her eyes got caught on his stomach that happened to peek out from under his shirt.

“Good lord.” She groaned, dropping her hands. She pushed her fingers against the bridge of her nose, reprimanding herself for becoming aware of something like this. Austin didn’t seem to notice her slight episode seeing as he quickly made his way over to the fridge and rummaged around before pulling out a can of pop. He gestured to her, silently asking if she wanted one. “Oh no.” she said coming back to reality. “Thanks.” He took another look in the fridge, at all of the strange contents, before closing it.  

“Ready?” he questioned after popping the top on his can. He took a sip before walking over to the door and pulling it open. Ally nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll have to call dad,” she said looking up at the clock on the wall. She crossed the room and walked out of the practice room. “It’s a little late but he wanted me to call when I was done.” She pulled her phone from her back pocket and walked over to the railing on the second floor landing. She barely got through three names on her contact list before Austin interrupted.

“I’ll take you home, no problem.” He said, reaching over her shoulder and grabbing her phone. He locked it, held it out to her, and smiled. “It’s my fault you’re late anyway right?” She shook her head and took the phone. A smile found its way to her face again.

“Yeah, thanks.” She said stowing the phone in her pocket again. She gestured for him to go first down the stairs. “I forgot something, go ahead and start the car, I’ll be down in a second.” He smiled and nodded, heading down the stairs. Ally watched as he made his way across the store and out the door. She walked back to the railing and put her forehead down on to the cool metal. How could she have done this to herself? She couldn’t watch him leave without _watching him leave._ There was no way that she could get rid of these feelings easily, but She could definitely hide them until they lessened. That was the only reasonable sounding way for thing for her to do at the time. That was all that she could do.


	4. Austin 2 - Sleep

When Austin found himself drifting off to sleep, he found it easy enough to keep his eyes open. Keeping his eyes on Ally wasn’t hard at all because he knew that she didn’t know that he was looking. All of the thoughts that seemed to be bogging him down melted away as he watched her breathe in and out. He noticed her small frame rhythmically pulling in and giving back and how when their breathing seemed to synch up it gave him a warm feeling. His arm was heavy but he could barely feel anything.

“Ally,” he whispered, moving some of the hair from her face. Her nose twitched as the hair trailed across it. This made him laugh, his mind trailing off towards the rabbit his third grade teacher had brought in to be the class pet. Every day he would take a small nap curled up with that rabbit. That was his favorite part of the day that year. “Ally,” he whispered again, so close to her that his hair threatened to touch hers. Her eyes slid open and they stared at each other; neither wanting to move. She reached up and brushed her fingers through his bangs, pulling it from his face. She lingered a moment and tangled her fingers deeper into his already messy hair, her eyes finally seemed to be distracted from his face. Quick enough though, she pulled her hand back and spent her attention on him. It was slow but not deep. She placed a sweet kiss on his lower lip; gentle as if it didn’t actually exist. He smiled when she pulled back and felt his eyelid slowly sliding down. He fell forward onto the couch and wondered if this was what it was like when Snow White had taken that fateful bite of the poisoned apple or when Adam partook in the fruit of knowledge. The sweet but bitter taste disappeared as his eyes opened one last time. “Ally?” he asked again, she looked up at him sleepily, a smile crossed her face and he realized that all that time, his arm had been weighed down with her head. He had been dreaming.

“I was going to give you five more minutes but I think I fell asleep too.” He managed to get out, his face still so close to hers. The smell of strawberries and mint came off of her in muted waves; not as strong as when he fell asleep next to Doug the Dolphin. He found himself wanting to lie there longer but when she slowly propped herself onto her elbow, he knew that he had to move. He sat up straight and feeling something in his eye, used his knuckles to rub at them. Ally made a sound that resembled a giggle. He hadn’t known that she could make such a noise and found himself describing her with the word _adorable._ He shook the thought out of his head and smiled. “I won’t ask.” He told her before standing up. Before he realized the impact it could have on him, he reached out a hand to help her up. He damned his gentlemanly nature as she grabbed hold and he easily lifted her into the air. She dropped the hold quicker than he could and it hurt. As they both stretched from being cramped in awkward positioning he had to look away before he caught himself staring. He quickly dropped his arms and walked over to the fridge. Ally grumbled something incoherent, under her breath as he opened the door and reached in. He didn’t know what he wanted, but the cool air seemed to help to lessen the red in his cheeks. Even if it didn’t show, he could feel it. He grabbed the closest drink that didn’t belong to Des and stood up. When she rejected his offer of a drink politely he closed the fridge door and spun around. He popped the top of his can and took a drink.

“Ready?” he asked walking over to the door and pulled it open for her to walk through; which she did after looking up at the clock on the wall.

“Yeah, I have to call dad though,” she said pulling her phone out of her pocket and walking over to the railing looking over the store. “It’s a little late but he wanted me to call when I was done.” She started to scroll through her phone but he felt something. He put his long legs into use and quickly made his way over to her. He reached over her shoulder and grabbed the phone out of her hands, locked it and held it back out to her. “I’ll take you home, no problem.” He gave her a smile. “It’s my fault you’re late anyway right?” She shook her head slightly and his heart dropped. Had he done something wrong? She took the phone and looked up at him with a smile.

“Yeah, thanks.” She said after a slight pause. She shoved her phone in to her pocket again and gestured for him to go first down the stairs. “I forgot something. Go ahead and start the car; I’ll be down in a second.” Austin gave her a smile before heading down the stairs. He breathed a sigh of relief trying not to think of how stupid he was acting. If being in the same room as her did so many things to him, how would it affect him in a confined space such as a car? Somehow he found himself smiling as he opened the door to the shop. Ally’s reflection in the door showed that she watched him up until the point that he couldn’t see anymore.  He gave her a devilish smile before exiting, wondering if she would see it at all.

It was easy enough to pull the car up to the store, even though there were no cars allowed in the mall’s square. He easily pulled up onto the bike path that was wide enough to fit two of his car. Ally made her way out the front door. She had turned the lights off after grabbing her bag, which Austin imagined is what she forgot upstairs. He told himself that he was imagining things when she hesitated before opening the passenger side door and slowly slid into the leather seat. He turned up the heat to beat the crisp air of the car. Even if He already felt warm, He imagined that she wouldn’t. Ally always had Cold hands and feet. He stopped himself from smiling at the fact that he knew that. He told himself that this wasn’t something to smile at, but something to reprimand. The ride home was a quiet one.


	5. Drive

When Austin found himself drifting off to sleep, he found it easy enough to keep his eyes open. Keeping his eyes on Ally wasn’t hard at all because he knew that she didn’t know that he was looking. All of the thoughts that seemed to be bogging him down melted away as he watched her breathe in and out. He noticed her small frame rhythmically pulling in and giving back and how when their breathing seemed to synch up it gave him a warm feeling. His arm was heavy but he could barely feel anything.

“Ally,” he whispered, moving some of the hair from her face. Her nose twitched as the hair trailed across it. This made him laugh, his mind trailing off towards the rabbit his third grade teacher had brought in to be the class pet. Every day he would take a small nap curled up with that rabbit. That was his favorite part of the day that year. “Ally,” he whispered again, so close to her that his hair threatened to touch hers. Her eyes slid open and they stared at each other; neither wanting to move. She reached up and brushed her fingers through his bangs, pulling it from his face. She lingered a moment and tangled her fingers deeper into his already messy hair, her eyes finally seemed to be distracted from his face. Quick enough though, she pulled her hand back and spent her attention on him. It was slow but not deep. She placed a sweet kiss on his lower lip; gentle as if it didn’t actually exist. He smiled when she pulled back and felt his eyelid slowly sliding down. He fell forward onto the couch and wondered if this was what it was like when Snow White had taken that fateful bite of the poisoned apple or when Adam partook in the fruit of knowledge. The sweet but bitter taste disappeared as his eyes opened one last time. “Ally?” he asked again, she looked up at him sleepily, a smile crossed her face and he realized that all that time, his arm had been weighed down with her head. He had been dreaming.

“I was going to give you five more minutes but I think I fell asleep too.” He managed to get out, his face still so close to hers. The smell of strawberries and mint came off of her in muted waves; not as strong as when he fell asleep next to Doug the Dolphin. He found himself wanting to lie there longer but when she slowly propped herself onto her elbow, he knew that he had to move. He sat up straight and feeling something in his eye, used his knuckles to rub at them. Ally made a sound that resembled a giggle. He hadn’t known that she could make such a noise and found himself describing her with the word _adorable._ He shook the thought out of his head and smiled. “I won’t ask.” He told her before standing up. Before he realized the impact it could have on him, he reached out a hand to help her up. He damned his gentlemanly nature as she grabbed hold and he easily lifted her into the air. She dropped the hold quicker than he could and it hurt. As they both stretched from being cramped in awkward positioning he had to look away before he caught himself staring. He quickly dropped his arms and walked over to the fridge. Ally grumbled something incoherent, under her breath as he opened the door and reached in. He didn’t know what he wanted, but the cool air seemed to help to lessen the red in his cheeks. Even if it didn’t show, he could feel it. He grabbed the closest drink that didn’t belong to Des and stood up. When she rejected his offer of a drink politely he closed the fridge door and spun around. He popped the top of his can and took a drink.

“Ready?” he asked walking over to the door and pulled it open for her to walk through; which she did after looking up at the clock on the wall.

“Yeah, I have to call dad though,” she said pulling her phone out of her pocket and walking over to the railing looking over the store. “It’s a little late but he wanted me to call when I was done.” She started to scroll through her phone but he felt something. He put his long legs into use and quickly made his way over to her. He reached over her shoulder and grabbed the phone out of her hands, locked it and held it back out to her. “I’ll take you home, no problem.” He gave her a smile. “It’s my fault you’re late anyway right?” She shook her head slightly and his heart dropped. Had he done something wrong? She took the phone and looked up at him with a smile.

“Yeah, thanks.” She said after a slight pause. She shoved her phone in to her pocket again and gestured for him to go first down the stairs. “I forgot something. Go ahead and start the car; I’ll be down in a second.” Austin gave her a smile before heading down the stairs. He breathed a sigh of relief trying not to think of how stupid he was acting. If being in the same room as her did so many things to him, how would it affect him in a confined space such as a car? Somehow he found himself smiling as he opened the door to the shop. Ally’s reflection in the door showed that she watched him up until the point that he couldn’t see anymore.  He gave her a devilish smile before exiting, wondering if she would see it at all.

It was easy enough to pull the car up to the store, even though there were no cars allowed in the mall’s square. He easily pulled up onto the bike path that was wide enough to fit two of his car. Ally made her way out the front door. She had turned the lights off after grabbing her bag, which Austin imagined is what she forgot upstairs. He told himself that he was imagining things when she hesitated before opening the passenger side door and slowly slid into the leather seat. He turned up the heat to beat the crisp air of the car. Even if He already felt warm, He imagined that she wouldn’t. Ally always had Cold hands and feet. He stopped himself from smiling at the fact that he knew that. He told himself that this wasn’t something to smile at, but something to reprimand. The ride home was a quiet one.


	6. Silence

Austin pulled the navy blue car through Ally’s neighborhood and scanned all of the mailboxes on the left side of the road. He had only dropped her off once before, when their song-writing had gone into over-time. The only thing he remembered about her house was the side of the road that it was on and the general style of the building. He snuck a glance over his shoulder at Ally, who was tapping her feet on the floor mats. She kept her hands close to her body. Austin inaudibly sighed and leaned over. He twisted the knob that controlled the heat all the way to the right. Even though he was practically dying of heat at this point, to him, this was the most logical choice. Ally made another one of her “Ally” patent noises and he stoically held his face from breaking into a smile. That was his plan. At this point in the game, there was no way to stop it. The only thing he could do was to keep it hidden until it slowly disappeared. He rolled his eyes. He was acting like such a girl and he could barely control himself. There was no denying it now. He knew what she was to him; what just her smell made him want to do. Just being this close to her made blood pump under his skin and the hairs on his arms stand on end. The silence of the car was almost unbearable. He would have loved to start a conversation but that wouldn’t help his cause at all.

Finally he spotted the mailbox that said Dawson on the side in illuminated letters. He pulled into the end of the long driveway and pulled the car into park. He turned the keys and the car automatically unlocked. Honestly speaking, with all of the thoughts running through his head, Austin had forgotten to even buckle his seatbelt. It did happen to work in his favor as he was able to quickly get out of the car and make his way over to Ally’s door. No matter how much he needed to distance himself from her at that moment, he was raised with manners and it was only common sense to him to open her door for her and walk her to the door. He looked over at the house and waited for her to make her way off of the leather seat. Unfortunately she just sat there in confusion. He forgot how she hadn’t been the kind of person who would have had doors opened for her before. He raised his eyebrows as a hint and she finally got over her surprise. She scooted off the leather seat and dropped down into the grass. Austin slammed the car door and looked over to where Ally stood. She looked at him and smiled. _So cute,_ He thought. _I should-_ He stopped himself from lifting his arm. That’s not what either of them needed. He started towards the door using his natural stride, to create some distance between him and her.

“Austin?” Ally asked from behind him. He continued walking, ignoring the pulling need to turn toward her with a smile. “Austin.” She said stronger, not as a question. He stopped. When her voice was shaky and weak, he felt a need to help her, but in this moment, her voice was so commanding that he felt the need to do exactly whatever she wanted. He hated this. Why did she have such an effect on him? He clenched his hand into a fist and forced a smile onto his face. He spun around on his heels, and smiled down at her.

“Coming?” he asked as if nothing was wrong; as if she didn’t have this effect on him. Her face was concrete and unmoving. She joined him for the rest of the short walk and even if he slowed his pace again, his smile was the hardest thing to keep up. When they finally reached the steps she jotted ahead.

“Austin?” she asked, running up the steps and turning around at the top. He laughed, for at where she stood, they were the same height and some part of him wanted to ignore the nagging awkwardness of the moment. “Is something wrong?” His smile dropped again. The only thought going through his head, other than how cute Ally looked in the moonlight, was how he was going to contain his feelings. He never knew how this could have affected her. She was worried about him while he didn’t give her well-being a second thought.

“What are you talking about?” he faked another smile. “I’m fine. You should get in there.” he continued, gesturing toward the door. She still didn’t smile. In fact she frowned and looked him in the eye.

“Austin. You know you can tell me anything.” She said making him lock his jaw tightly. Couldn’t she care for herself for once? He looked away and stared up at the moon.

“I know.” He heard himself saying as he turned around to face her again. “I know I can tell you anything.” Their eyes met. He didn’t feel himself waver, “I know.” His body moved on its own. He didn’t know what he was doing; it was just what felt right. He pulled her into his arms and held her there. His hands rested above her hip and tangled in her hair. She breathed into his neck and he could smell strawberries in the air. He didn’t need this; he wanted it, and as they stood there, for that long time, he was content. Until he realized what his body had just done. He pushed away her warmth and held her at a distance. He knew that his smile was missing but at this point it was unimportant.

“I know but I can’t.” he forced his mouth to move. For a moment, he was unprepared for what to do next so he did the first thing to come to mind. He left. He got in his car and left. One last look out the car and he sped down the road. The tank in the car was full so he drove. For hours he drove.  Nothing made sense to him but Ally; nothing but her.


	7. Awful

It wasn’t long before autopilot kicked in and Ally’s body carried her onto her feet. She finally took her eyes off of the road and looked back to her front door as if she was wondering whether or not it was ok for her to enter. Maybe her brain was really wondering if Austin would be back or not. Maybe she felt like she was the reason he was acting this way. Maybe Austin knew that she liked him. Her body moved like a puppet through the door, up the steps and down the hall. Snoring was unmistakable through the slightly ajar door. Ally’s father, Lester, had so much faith in his daughter; faith enough to fall asleep whilst she was out late. Ally ventured into his room. She pulled the sheet up to his shoulders and placed a kiss across his forehead. The door slid closed with a creak and a slight pop of the lock and she made her way down the hall to her room. She didn’t bother turning on the light and slid into bed, her clothes still on. Sleep came easier to her than she thought it would, but ended just as quickly.

The morning came, and with it, the sun. House hold sounds clanged out of the kitchen as Lester begun to make breakfast. Ally could smell batter cooking. She knew that for breakfast, her father preferred waffles but at this moment she wanted nothing to do with anything that had to do with pancakes. When a text was sent to her phone telling her that breakfast was ready, she replied that she wasn’t feeling well and that she was going to stay in bed today. Seeing as this was her day off, Lester let her off with very little coddling or questioning. After some time, she heard the slamming of the door to the garage and then the starting of the car. She was alone which was exactly what she wanted. That’s what she thought she wanted anyway. Though, when she was alone, it only reminded her of the situation that seemed to just keep coming up. If she ran this situation through her head one more time, it was probably going to explode.

Since before she had these kinds of problems, there was only one solution for her. So the only thing that she could think to do in this situation was this solution. She called the only person that had been with her through thick and thin. She called her best friend in all the world; Trish De La Rosa. All in all, this phone call took her hours; multiple of them deciding whether or not to even pick up the phone. Another portion was convincing Trish to even come over while she was between jobs. She couldn’t have cared less if Ally had called her out of work, but her off hours were her personal time. Ally was only able to swindle an hour of Trish’s time but she knew that after five minutes, Trish wouldn’t want to leave.

It took enough time for Trish to get to Ally’s house; enough time for Ally to think through what she would say. She decided that she would start out with some small talk. How was her family? The weather is nice isn’t it? Then she would slowly ease herself into the situation and then ask for advice. Ally looked over at the clock as the doorbell rang downstairs. She didn’t move to answer it, knowing that Trish would let herself in anyway. There was a slam of a door, twenty sum steps up the stairs, and Trish was outside her door. She didn’t bother knocking before barging into the room. Ally pushed herself up against the wall and leaned her head back. Trish gave her one look and rushed to the bed. She settled down in front of her friend and looked her in the eye. Ally opened her mouth to speak but she couldn’t say a word. Nothing came out but tears as she laughed at her own frailty. Trish gave her a sympathetic look and patted her hand. She knew that nothing could be done until the tears stopped. She knew that Ally had something she needed to work through. She knew that much at least. It did take time but eventually the tears dried up. Ally’s voice settled and Trish was able to breathe again. Ally looked down at her hands in her lap. Half of the weight that had been on her shoulders was gone. Now it was time to

drop the rest. She looked up at Trish and wondered how long they had been friends and how long she had been able to see through all of her problems.

“Trish.” She wavered. “Trish, I think I like him.” Ally half whispered. There was barely a heartbeat before she spilled everything. “Back when it was just his looks, I thought that this would never happen. Sure he has great hair and kind eyes, but it’s not just that anymore. He’s a gentleman. A freaking gentleman! How could he do that to me, making me like him and all? He may not be smart but he’s funny and sweet and he’s ruined everything.” Ally dropped her forehead into her hands and Trish patted her leg some more.

“What did he do? I mean, I know Dallas isn’t the smartest person in the world but-“Ally looked up at her and Trish stopped her sentence short. “Not Dallas?” Finally Trish was shocked by what Ally was telling her. “Then who?” she racked her brain of every person possible. Her eyes went over an imaginary list of people Ally knew that had great hair, kind eyes, and a good personality to match. Then it hit her. It was finally happening. So many times she had wanted to point it out. Now it was a reality. She could see it in her friend’s eyes. “Austin?” She realized when she said it, she couldn’t even believe it. It seemed obvious to her but the shock was as real as could be. Ally hung her head. What she had been trying to say this whole time hung in the air. What she was trying to avoid still settled on Trish’s lips.

“Austin.” Ally confirmed. It had been clear to her for days, but now it seemed almost childish. “I like Austin Moon.” She said to herself more than to Trish. She stared up at her friend, finally understanding. She was focusing on the horrible feeling of being rejected, not the wonderful feeling of being accepted. Even if Austin didn’t feel the same way about her, she knew that he would respond maturely and her mind would be at ease. “I like Austin,” she said again, finally able to smile about the situation. She smiled over to her friend who smiled proudly back, before they both broke into awful laughter.


	8. Disgusting

He took the long way home. The back roads were dark and empty which was better for Austin. That way, he wouldn’t have to pay as much attention to where he was on the road. He didn’t have to swerve at the last second, more than one time that is. By the time he made it home, it was already early in the morning and he should have been asleep hours ago. He did feel tired, but not physically. His brain had been running so fast for the past twenty-four hours that it was worn out. His body moved on it’s own, parking his car in the garage and dragging into the house. He crashed on the couch before he could even make it to the stairs. The house was quiet. All of the lights had been turned off and the curtains closed. Austin leaned his head back into one of the cushy pillows on the couch. He thought of all of the events of the day. How he had acted. The look of Ally’s face as she slept. An involuntary smile slid across his face but his brain couldn’t hold it back. It was no use denying it. He needed advice as soon as possible. The clock next to him blinked 7:45 meaning it was around three in the morning. Des was already coming over in eight hours anyway, he’d let him sleep. Austin stared up at the ceiling, not focusing on blocking out thoughts. He drifted into a deep sleep thinking about the one thing that scared him the most in that moment; how much Ally made him smile. Funnily enough, his dreams had nothing to do with his predicament. He replayed an old episode of the show Friends over and over again in his head.

When the smell of cooking pancake batter filled his nose, he gagged. His eyes shot open and he sat up straight, still wearing his clothes from the day before. Normally, waking up in the morning to the smell of pancakes was a welcome surprise. He would jump out of bed and head downstairs in his pajamas. Now he pinched his nose and made his way upstairs as fast as possible. He closed his door behind him. A few of the shirts lying about made a perfect stopper for the gap under his door. He turned on his ceiling fan and sprayed some of his emergency febreeze. Nothing but Rushing Valley Spring filled his nose as he collapsed on his bed. There was no denying that something was wrong with him. Why couldn’t he stand the smell of his favorite food? He attributed it to his recent predicament and ignored the dizziness that was induced by the air freshener. The room spun but he closed his eyes. He’d much rather be in the dark than be spinning in circles. Recently that’s all he seemed to be doing.

He knew that he needed to talk to someone about this. Des had been his best friend since grade school. Besides, it’s not like he could talk to Trish or Ally about it. So the call it’s self came easy. He was speed dial number thirty-six; his favorite number. Simply punching in three keys wasn’t hard. It was trying to get Des to wake up earlier than nine in the morning. They had a deal that said if Austin can wake Des up before then, he deserves what ever he wants. It took him twenty-three calls to his cell and one to his home, which his mother picked up instantly after two rings. It was a dirty trick to bring his mother into this, but Austin knew that that was the only way to get Des to wake up outside of his sleep schedule. He was put on hold and he could hear her heels click as she walked across the wood floors to Des’s room. There was a slight knock and Austin was put on mute. He couldn’t hear anything. When Des’s mother returned to the phone she said that Des’s exact words were “It has to be pretty important. I’ll be there.” Des automatically knew that Austin needed him to come over. It seemed only natural. It took him a while to get there, because of the long bike ride, but eventually there was a ring at the doorbell. Austin held his breathe and ran like hell down the stairs. He ripped open the door and dragged Des up to his room, After fumigating his room he fell onto his bed and pulled his stuffed dolphin to his chest. Des didn’t say anything. He just took a seat in the swivel y desk chair until Austin found his voice. He hesitated before speaking up.

“Is it still a lie if you said it before you knew it was a lie?” his voice full of honest curiosity, maybe some grief. Des looked over to his friend as Austin buried his face into the stuffed doll. It’s a rare thing to see, Des’s all knowing smile. Des always knew what was going on, what people thought of him, how the way he acted made him seem simple. He smiled at his friend and in his eyes, Austin could see everything.

“Yes.” Des replied matter-of-factly. His old eyes smiled at Austin as he leaned back into the chair. “but even if it is a lie, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Austin scrunched his face together and sat up, still hugging the dolphin. “Not everyone tells the truth. What you make of the outcome is what makes it a good or bad thing.” He reached into his bag and grabbed a large sandwich out of the largest pocket.  Austin seemed even more confused.

“But you just said that it was a lie, how is that not bad? If I lied to you about something without knowing it, it’s still a lie isn’t it?” Des shook his head and swallowed a large bite of the sandwich.

“I’m not here to talk about you and me. I’m here to talk about you and Ally.” Austin coughed in surprise, after almost inhaling his own spit. He had always know Des knew things, but he didn’t know he knew everything. He wasn’t even going to ask how, he needed different answers.

“But why do I feel horrible if it wasn’t a lie?” Austin decided would be a good way to continue. Des shook his head again.

“Weren’t you listening? I just told you that it was a lie.” He sighed in exasperation as he found the solution to be easy. Austin’s head was swimming. So he had lied to her. This whole time he had lied to her without even knowing it. Des finished his sandwich as Austin mulled this over in his brain. “other than the fact that you lied to her, what could be making you feel this way?” Des said with as much subtext as he could muster, trying to mentally give Austin the answer. Austin looked up in surprise. He understood. Not only had he lied to her—he was still lying to her. He felt like this because he wasn’t telling the truth. Not just to her, but to himself. He liked Ally Dawson and he was making excuses as to why it could never happen. He hadn’t told himself the truth once.

“I like her.” He said more to himself than to Des. “I like Ally Dawson.” The truth escaped his mouth and half of his burdens ran away. “I like Ally Dawson as more than just a friend. Her smile, her smell, her horrible dance moves.” He released his grasp on the dolphin and stared at Des with a smile to match his. Des nodded. He had known all along, before anyone probably. Now he stared over at his friend like he was a baby duck that had just learned how to swim. This was something that he would always need to know and now he did. Austin was his best friend. He was like a brother and now that he realized this crucial piece of information he wasn’t jealous, he wasn’t annoyed that it took so long; he was proud. He was proud of his best friend.


	9. Austin and Ally - Our Song

He pushed the glass door open with little force and tried not to smile at the smallest thing like how cheery the bell sounded when he walked through the threshold or how his shoes squeaked against the tile floors. His eyes trailed the whole way to the shop; from his room, to the streets, to the food court, and finally now, to the shiny floors of Sonic Boom. They trailed up to the counter; to her. Ally Dawson smiled down at the child in front of the counter and slowly explained the correct way to play the harmonica. Was it his new found realization or the lighting that made her smile seem brighter than he had ever seen it? He thought of what he would say.

“Ally, I like you. Let’s go out.” No matter how many times he had practiced this in front of his mirror or how simple the words were, they didn’t seem right. Standing in front of her now those words didn’t come close to what he wanted to say.  What face would he use? Should he use his adorable smile or try his best at a smolder? There was no good way to say this so he was just going to come out and say it. As soon as she was done cleaning the recently used harmonica and the three harmonicas that it had touched, Austin slid over to the center of the counter across from her. She looked up and smiled a smile a thousand times brighter than the one from seconds ago. Austin opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Thankfully she didn’t seem to notice and just started off.

“Austin!” she said with so much happiness that his open jaw snapped shut and curved into a smile almost as big as hers. “Perfect, I needed to talk to you. Hold on.” She scrambled at her pocket and quickly grabbed her phone. With the press of two buttons, she held it up to her ear. Austin could hear the tone ringing once, twice, three times before a voice answered on the other end.

“Trish. It’s happening. Now.” She locked the phone and stuffed it back into her pocket. “Just a second.” She said holding up her finger. There was a lapse of multiple seconds before the door’s bell dinged from behind him and Trish ran quickly to the counter. She had recently gotten a job at the scarf store next door and was completely wrapped in scarves and a turban made of three different fabrics. She pulled off the ridiculous hat and shoved it behind the counter.

“Go ahead.” Trish said. Ally smiled and ran around to the front of the counter. Austin smiled down at her and didn’t try to stop himself from noticing her new floral jumper and snow white cardigan.

“Ok. Now come with me.” She said holding out her hand for him to take. Before he realized it, he hesitated. He had been hesitating every second since, but now, he didn’t need to and he knew that. He took her hand and made sure that every inch of the inside of his hand was firmly wrapped around hers. She wavered at his touch and looked down at their hands. The only way that their hands could get any closer would be if they were intertwining fingers. She looked up to him and found him smiling down at her. He seemed happier than he had been in a while. His smile was a sweet reminder of what she was doing. Ally smiled back and returned the grip on their hands. She took him up the stairs to the practice room and they sat down at the piano.

“I’ve been thinking.” Ally said lifting the lid and playing out a few notes. She ignored the fact that her leg was touching his and that he wasn’t inching away. Sure he might just be used to it, heaven knows that she was until now, but until she got her thoughts out of her head and off her heart she’d never know. “For a while now I’ve been thinking and writing.” She continued as Austin just watched her effortlessly make up a melody on the spot. He reached up and played a simple repetitive tune behind her. “I never really gave it any thought but when I put it all together everything makes sense. What I think.” She looked up to see his eyes trained on their hands. “What I feel.” Her left hand stopped its work and reached over to grab his. He looked at their hands and then up to her. His brain and heart were both running at a thousand miles an hour and he couldn’t understand the situation.

“Ally, I-“Austin barely got out before she could place a finger over his mouth. He remembered back to his dream and the light feeling of her touch.

“Austin I’ve been working on this for a while so just hear me out, alright?” Ally let go of his hand and retreated from his mouth. He didn’t say a word. Now was the moment that she had been building herself up for. All she had to do was put her words into a way that she knew that Austin could understand. She started to sing.

_Trying to kill all my time all day and night time until it’s our time_  
 _If I had it my way I'd be on the highway straight to our driveway_  
 _I can’t wait until I see you and get to feel you and kiss the real you_  
 _You know I need you, I wanna go home_

Ally continued her upbeat playing and ventured a look in Austin’s direction. His head was lowered and his smile was gone. She set her jaw but kept it up. She still had a whole chorus to get through.

_So if you hear me singing this song_  
 _I know you’re out there singing along_  
 _it’s a love song and it’s the right song cause it’s our song_

Austin couldn’t believe it. After all of the thought he had put into this moment, she swoops right in and says everything he’s thinking in the most reasonable way. He had to get his thoughts on the table too. He listened carefully for a way to get his feelings across.

_I close my eyes_

**_(I close my eyes)_ **

_And there you are  
Turn off the light_

**_(Turn off the light)_**  
And there you are  
and in my dreams

 **_(And in my dreams)_ ** _  
We dance and sing to each other all night long **and this is our song**_

Ally looked over to him as his voice mimicked the notes that she was singing and then finally ended in synch. He was smiling like she had hoped that he would, but it was more of an “Austin Patent” mocking smile. She broke off into a smile of her own at the mere thought that he hadn’t rejected her yet.

“Ok, so I borrowed the song from The Plain White Tees.” Ally admitted still playing the chords in the background. Austin’s smile softened into a sweeter one and he reached over to grab her hands in his own. The music stopped.

“Ally Dawson, I have never been able to put my feelings into words. I don’t know how long it had been before I even noticed them, but what I do know is that this song is Our Song.” He paused for a quick smirk. “Even if it wasn’t actually called Our Song.”

“Austin, I really hope that you understood the meaning in that song cause I don’t know if I can say it in normal sentence form.” She said leaning closer to him.

“I think I understood, but just to make sure…” he let go with one of his hands, slid it behind her neck and pulled her as close to him as possible without really touching, “I hope it’s safe to assume that this is what you meant.” And finally he pulled her into him so that their lips fit together like two puzzle pieces. It was long but not rough. Just the sweet feeling of mutual liking and the fervent smell of strawberries on the beach. She lifted a hand to his chin and lightly pulled him away.

“Yes. It is perfectly safe to assume that.” Ally said using her thumb to wipe at his bottom lip. She bit on hers before pulling him back into another kiss and they melted into each other; both of them finally ready to write a love song, not afraid of what was to come.

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you liked it. Tell me what you thought and maybe how I can improve my skills.


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